Oedipus complex
by TheDarkestShinobi
Summary: Beverly thought she saw the Oedipus complex in the boy she wished was her son, but perhaps it's in her own.  Sheldon, meanwhile, has just proved string theory and Penny wants to learn about it.    SheldonxPenny most likely
1. Chapter 1

**TheDarkestShinobi: **I am very new to the Big Bang Theory. I have only seen a bunch of clips on youtube so I apologize for any characters that are out of character. However I had to write this after watching a couple of them back to back seeing Sheldon's interactions with Penny, the first one between Beverly and Penny, and one at the comic book store where Sheldon erupts after Raj and Howard fight and the comic book store one where Leonard gets him a robot to make him happy after they fought.

Feedback is sort of important because I want to know how my characters are portrayed.

This will probably be SheldonxPenny

**Story start:**

Sheldon had practically run out of the room and Penny turned towards Leonard her anger replaced by confusion.

"What happened?"

"It's..." He ran his hand through his hair. "He had problems with his parents. They fought a lot."

"Like..." she paused and looked down. "we do…" She turned towards the door a frown appearing on her face remembering how he acted that time with the blender and in the comic book store. "Go talk to him." She finally said. Buying a robot and comic book wasn't going to fix it this time.

Leonard opened the door and stepped into Sheldon's bedroom to see him curled up on his bed.

"Hey…"

"You promised you'd stop fighting." He said quickly.

"I'm sorry." He said staying at the door knowing if he came any closer Sheldon would bring up some obscure yet existing agreement he made some time ago about space and not being allowed in his bedroom at all.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you're sorry. You still fight." He then seemed to turn away even further. "This conversation is over, it's bedtime. Go away."

"You gonna be okay? You know my mother is coming tomorrow."

"I am informed. Goodnight."

Leonard woke up later than usual to hear a conversation. He shook his head as he rose.

"Mom."

"Ah, Leonard. I see punctuality is not a developing strong point." She turned back to Sheldon. "And given the fact that I have not seen your friend Penny lurking about I would assume that you had a fight yesterday."

Leonards' nonverbal response was enough for her but she was surprised when Sheldon did not respond in his usual manner and instead simply looked at his French toast before taking another bite. _Hmm… _She thought to herself _His quietness in the matter proves my assumption to be correct. However it also gives me reason to believe that he had a problem with this. I wonder what the relationship between his parents were._

She was interrupted from her analysis by three knocks in succession. She turned towards the door. The apartment was small enough that one knock was needed.

"Sheldon."

Odd.

Penny was dating her son. Why would she call for Sheldon?

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

"Sheldon."

And why was he suddenly smiling?

He waited by the door and she instantly recognized that it was more of a routine then a knock for attention. After the third set he opened the door and she smiled softly at him_. She was concerned. That would mean that there was a fight yesterday that affected Sheldon more than it did them. His parents had problems then. _

She looked up unaware of the fact that she had looked down in thought and seen Sheldon moving aside and letting Penny in. Penny walked to Leonard kissing him on the cheek and then grabbed some French toast for herself. Due to Sheldon's lack of comment she could assume this to be a routine.

Sheldon's smile faded as she kissed him. Not in anger or jealousy but in caution.

It took her less than an hour to figure out the entire situation.

To Sheldon, Penny was the mom and Leonard was the dad. Sheldon is still internally seeking that love in his family. Not from his family, it was obvious he did not desire their love for him, he desired them to love each other. The way Sheldon acts towards Leonard has nothing to do with him but the fact that he felt he was a better man than his father.

Sheldon subconsciously wanted Penny.

Penny represented his mother to him. It was a simple Oedipus complex made worse by the fact that his father and mother had never gotten along and he could never make his mother happy in the same way the father could have if he had been any sort of man. Once again he was the odd one out in this situation. He could make Penny happy, but Leonard could make Penny _happy. _ Not just sexually either, being a significant other had many other emotional attachments other than pleasure. Leonard could give her so much more than Sheldon could and he thought he didn't care. He did though. This was significantly different however. He could have Penny in that way. He could keep her happy in a way she was sure her son couldn't. He lacked in everything else. Why would this be any different?

Penny wanted Leonard because he was like her own father. That much she had deduced climbing the stairwell with her, which she also had to do this morning since the elevator was still not working. She would have written a complaint ages ago but she supposed they all lacked her drive.

Sheldon had excused himself moments later and Penny watched him leave before turning to Leonard moving away from him swiftly and placing her hand on her hip, her eyes narrowed and her lips spread. Such h_ostility. _Leonard's eyes had seemed to shift and his lips set themselves. She couldn't help but smirk. _They are fighting in secret from the son. They all feel this familial connection. _

She moved to the edge of the couch and strained herself to try and hear them since they had seemed to forget about her she assumed they would not notice. They hissed some words at each other, so low she could not hear them and she wondered why they would be that low. She crossed her legs before fixing her glasses. It ended with Penny turning and raising her hand dismissively and Leonard shaking his head.

"I can still hear you even when I am not in the general vicinity."

They all turned to Sheldon and Penny bit her lip.

"Sheldon honey I'm sorry. You don't have to worry anymore."

"I would assume by 'we're over' you are referring to the relationship between you and Leonard. If that is the case then there will be no more fighting correct?" no one answered him and he walked over to the couch looking down at Beverly.

"You're in my seat."

_0,0,0,0 was currently being occupied by Leonard's mother. He had respect for the woman and if anyone were to ever be close to being his equal it would be her. However that did not erase the fact that she was currently in his seat and no one was allow-_

"There's another seat right there." Beverly stated as she lifted her hand to indicate all the other seats. Sheldon visibly twitched and his tone lowered in pitch.

"That's my seat." His eyes narrowed and he seemed ready to almost fight for it.

"Mom, just move." Leonard said moving around the counter to where they were.

"Yeah, Mrs. Hofstadter just…"

"All the others are just as good."

_He didn't handle change well. He wouldn't handle a relationship well._

_This is the reason that Leonard dislikes her so much._

Penny and Leonard seemed to be drowned out in the silence coming from the other two as they looked at each other. Beverly looked up tauntingly and Sheldon looked down at her with such contempt and intensity that it was surprising that she looked so calm.

Sheldon's finger twitched and both Penny and Leonard watched in worry. Smirking suddenly Beverly tilted her head.

"Very well then."

She got up and moved to another seat.

"Leonard, come and tell me more about the experiments you are copying now."

She watched her son's face fall and briefly wondered what the interaction between Sheldon and Penny would be. Aside from Elektra and Oedipus, the fictional characters who had actually gotten to sleep with their parents, she had no idea how it actually affected individuals. Could they overcome their issues by being with the other?

As Leonard started rambling she looked over and watched Penny take a seat next to Sheldon with a smile on her face.

She'd soon find out.

**TDS: **Let me know how I did. Oh and you are more than welcome to send me funny clips.


	2. Chapter 2

**TheDarkestShinobi: **I'm going to take a beta after this chapter. Regardless please let me know if I am getting better. I have made an appointment to take to a professor of mine about the Oedipus complex so I will be back on that later because I had learned that it was not so much receiving love from the mother as believing oneself to be better than the father and replacing him.

Either way I will let you know when I have finished talking to him about it.

I like incorporating Beverly into my story but I don't think I can come up with a plausible excuse for her to be in the story for more than another chapter or two.

And about the Sheldon dialogue. I have it in more of a 'I'm telling you he's talking but not the actual words'

I suspect by the next chapter I will be able to break his "semi-silence" if you will.

**Chapter start:**

After Leonard had finished she hugged him awkwardly remembering his desire for a closer relationship and let him go about his own way. She had wanted him to leave long before so that she could observe Sheldon and Penny's interactions. When Penny said she was going to the store she bid her off rather quickly interested to get Sheldon to herself and work on her new project.

Sheldon Cooper was a brilliant man, it was a fact she would not deny. However, Dr. Cooper was just a man and therefore he needed to be more human than he appeared. She sat next to him on the couch and he looked at her before looking away.

"Leonard seems happy you came." She shook her hand

"I've no need for misconceptions; you could compare my visits to a colonoscopy for him."

Sheldon nodded remembering that's exactly what he had done. Even when he thought he was wrong he was right. He sure was brilliant. A _homo novus indeed._

"Then why do you torture the both of you to stop by and visit? I am unfamiliar with why you would do that. I find I rather enjoy when my mother visits me."

She smirked and adjusted her glasses.

"What's she like?"

And as if to prove her wrong his face brightened and he spoke of her. He said nothing bad. He held her on a pedestal, like she did him. He loved her and she loved him. There was nothing that would make anything seem like an Oedipus complex.

She was wrong it would seem.

She couldn't be wrong.

"I see you haven't mentioned your father."

"He's dead." Sheldon had been visibly taken aback when she interrupted him mid-sentence but he looked down when he realized what she had said.

She nodded and searched for comforting words. He stood up afterword and took all the plates to the sink.

"I'm perfectly fine with it. It is the circle of life as most would say. He had to die in order to make room for the new generation just like I will one day."

He spoke like a frightened child trying to justify his father's death when he wanted nothing more than to just bring him back. She shifted not knowing what to do when she decided to probe once more with a question she hoped he would answer.

"So why does it still upset you?"

He froze between dishes for a second before turning to her. His eyes were downcast but she wouldn't describe it as sad. He looked at her and she could still see the child in him. She could she a child who was suffocated by science and never got to live.

"It made my mom very sad."

Penny had returned shortly after and had come in with Leonard. _Odd behavior after a break up. Is it for Sheldon's sake or was there really nothing significant in their relationship? _Beverly watched Sheldon watch them like a hawk and wondered just what it was. Her initial hypothesis had been the Oedipus complex but according to her talk with him she would be wrong.

She didn't like being wrong.

If it wasn't Oedipus what was it?

"I'm staying until Monday Leonard, I would like to talk to someone at the University."

"Not in here I assume." Sheldon piped in "I only have the emergency supplies for three. Not to mention that you are too tall for the couch and that would involve you being in my spot."

"I've booked a hotel for tonight; I will simply extend my stay."

"Very well then." Sheldon turned and walked into his room effectively ending the conversation.

Leonard turned to Penny with a look of disbelief.

"Isn't she my mom?"

"If you hadn't come straight from my uterus I would doubt it as well Leonard." He withdrew in a figurative shell as his mother spoke and stood. She had bid them good day saying she had some research to do and left.

Sheldon had emerged in a green T-shirt and red undershirt with tan pants on. He then nodded to Leonard and Penny and sat down in front of his laptop. He opened it and within seconds started typing. After a few seconds of looking at him waiting for him to say something she turned and said a small bye to Leonard leaving and closing the door.

"Goodbye to you too Penny." Sheldon said as she closed the door. She shook her head at Dr. Whack a doodle as she headed to her apartment. She felt relieved. Seeing Leonard walking up the stairs she told him she acted harshly but still thinks it would be better if they stayed friends. She told him he was sweet. She kissed him on the check. He told her she was beautiful.

They both smiled and agreed to be friends.

Leonard wanted to be angry. He wanted to be angry at Penny for not wanting to try again. He wanted to be angry at Sheldon for being upset with their fighting, for dooming their relationship from the start.

_Has your relationship with Penny reached its horrible and inevitable end?_

He wanted to be angry that he found himself slightly angry that he wasn't angry. He felt… relieved. He didn't have to pretend he was dumber than he was so she wouldn't fell dumb next to him. He didn't have to pretend to be strong so that she could lean on him or cool so that he would feel at home with her friends the way she did with his.

Maybe it was better this way. She would still be their neighbor and Sheldon wouldn't let her stop being their friend even if she later decided to take back what he said so he could still have what they had before. Maybe they both wanted the idea of the other more than the actual person.

He ran a hand through his hair realizing something he hadn't thought of before. If she hadn't hissed the words we're over, he would have.

Leonard walked out of the hallway when he seen Sheldon typing away on his laptop. Suddenly he stood and took out a sharpie before freezing as he looked at his board.

"Leonard."

"What is it Sheldon?"

"Did you touch my board?"

"And risk a strike? No way." Leonard shook his head as he made his way into the kitchenette and pulling out a bottle of water from the fridge.

Sheldon dropped the marker as he opened his mouth wide in shock. It was all wrong.

He had found several ways to prove string theory hoping that his work would coincide and earn him his Nobel Prize. He reasoned with himself now. Of course it didn't work. His numbers were off. Very off. His eidetic memory never seemed to remind him of that before but it flashed in front of him now. That 1 shouldn't be there. It was never there before.

Suddenly he made a mad dash for his bedroom. He closed the door before going under his bed and pulling out a very large box. It was all the work of his life. All the important work anyway. He took off the top and looked at his organization system before gently going through it and finding the folder he was looking for. He gently took it out and opened it seeing the papers in there organized by date. It contained his initial work on string theory. After flipping through a few papers he found the one he was looking for.

His original equation did not match the one he was currently working with. He brought it out and looked at the white board and then back to the paper in his hand. He had copied the formula wrong. All of his work for the last couple of months had been a waste of time. He had an eidetic memory and yet he had failed to write the correct equation down.

"What's the matter Sheldon?"

"I made a mistake Leonard."

"It's okay?" He said raising an eyebrow at the other genius.

Leonard watched as Sheldon reached up and added two lines turning a one into a four. He then calmly walked back into his room to but his paper away. Leonard shifted and in his head went through the entire system Sheldon had written along with the conclusion on the bottom. After getting his answer he peeked to make sure Sheldon was still in his room and walked over to his laptop. Looking at the screen he felt his heart start to beat faster. That was the same answer he had come up with.

Sheldon had just proved string theory.

**TDS: **Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

TheDarkestShinobi: Well my professor and I had a long discussion on Oedipus complex and he agrees with me, somewhat. I will try and bring the conversation into the story using Beverly in the next chapter or most likely the one after that.

This does not change the base of my story though it will change some details and points.

Oh, and Medusa20. I didn't realize how the sentence could have been taken but I had meant it to be known that she kissed Leonard on the cheek.

At SpaceAnJL I watched more clips, and sort of felt they were overdoing it as well, however I can assure you I won't other than in mentioning it maybe once or twice more in reference to Oedipus. I hope you find that tolerable.

On one last note I do not usually reply to reviews in chapters but I felt a need to for these in case others had the same issues.

Thank you for the reviews and I hope this story is great too.

**Chapter Start**

Leonard took a few steps back in shock. Did he really do it?

Looking at the equations Leonard realized he had no idea what they meant, actually he reasoned, his knowledge on String Theory was minimal at best. Then he thought of the kid from before, the one who had torn Sheldon down saying String Theory was impossible to prove. Didn't Sheldon himself say that kid was right?

When Sheldon walked back out of his room Leonard turned away quickly not wanting give Sheldon any clues. He sent Penny a text to come back over. _She had to see this. _He always thought Sheldon was crazy, and he still does. Maybe all Geniuses were crazy. Either way this could be history.

You know, granted that whatever Sheldon was doing in the first place was right.

Sheldon had looked at his board annoyed and then fixed the equations and then erased his conclusion and looked back up at the top.

His original thesis on the existence of both open strings and closed strings had been disproven in his trip to the artic since the evidence supporting it had been fabricated. Since then he assumed that all the electrons and quarks existed as closed strings with the exception of when they came into contact with a D-Brane.

He had deduced the weight of the individual loops using Scandium. He smirked at the thought _Sc_. It was not his favorite element but he liked working with it. It was the 21st element and neither had a troublesome electronegativity factor or large molecular weight. It was a group 3B element and kept to the assumptions that followed.

He had found the actual weight. Not the weight on the Periodic table either. He had almost pleaded with the Chemistry department to let him use their equipment and when he was granted permission he had found the true weight. 44.96 was close, but not as specific as he needed. He had then subtracted the mass of the nucleus and even accounted for the possibility of ions and isotopes and preformed multiple tests.

Finding the weight of the individual strings was relatively simple.

Proving the 11th dimension wasn't. Even now he wasn't certain with that part of his work but he supposed he would be the closest than mankind would get to proving anything about this. His proof was simple to explain actually it was just incredibly difficult to think of it.

He lifted his hand and wrote down the new numbers. The electronegativity had to match. If it didn't than he was still wrong. That boy, he refused to mention his name as it still angered him, would have been right. More importantly i_t would mean that he, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the Homo novus, was wrong._

He was never wrong.

He looked at the board in mild shock.

He had said it but didn't really believe it.

That number….

Was right….

_**SheldonxPenny**_

Penny entered the apartment silently, though she guessed, with the look Leonard was giving Sheldon she could infer that he had been staring into space for a long time and she could have been as noisy as she wanted and he wouldn't have moved. She looked towards him and he looked at her with a smile.

_He did it_

He mouthed the words and looked back at Sheldon with a look of disbelief. Penny raised an eyebrow and looked back towards Dr. whack-a-doodle. What did he do? Did he finally shut down after running out of batteries? Did he realize he was an alien? Did the mother ship come back for him?

Slowly, almost uncertainly, he raised his hand and started writing down numbers. She didn't know what any of it meant but she could guess it was big. Sheldon looked like he was deciding his own fate. Leonard had never been so quiet.

_Neither have I._

She almost jumped herself when Sheldon twitched. What? She wanted to ask but knew better, Leonard would be the first to speak because he knew the science-y stuff. He would know to either comfort or congratulate.

Sheldon stepped back as if in a trance and turned back to the computer. He touched the keyboard and she watched the screen light up. She couldn't look away. Why was he acting so unsure right now? Where was his cocky usual self? And why the hell had Leonard invited her over to see this? Although she had to admit Sheldon was being very human right now. It was something she probably would have wanted to see anyway.

_**SheldonxPenny**_

If he didn't figure it out soon Leonard was going to burst and tell the crazy Physicist that he had just proved String Theory. Leonard snuck a glance at Penny and almost laughed at the look on her face. It was like she was seeing a new species of sorts. Leonard watched the laptop light up and smiled moving his hands in his pockets and standing up straighter. He knows now.

Sheldon's lip quivered.

Penny took a slow step forward.

Leonard knew he'd want to remember this moment forever. His best friend had just practically proved how the universe worked.

Shit.

He'll definitely be getting a noble prize this year.

_**SheldonxPenny**_

It was like an electrical wire.

His theory relied on that.

If the strings of electrons worked like that of electrical wires than he could use the weight and length to figure out how they repelled each other.

In other words

The electronegativity he had derived from his equations would have to match the value that had been measured before.

He knew the number he had just written down. Eidetic memory or not he had worked with the number enough times to know it by heart.

It was the electronegativity of Scandium.

He reached for his computer.

He had to be sure. He couldn't let himself get hopeful. He could very well be wrong. Again.

The laptop brightened as he touched it and he could do nothing but stare.

That same number was right there on his computer.

His thesis was true.

His formulas were correct.

His calculations were correct.

Dear Lord he had just proved string Theory.

**TDS: **How did I do?

Now a few more notes if you'll take the time to read.

I'm happy with this chapter. I'm beginning to understand the characters better and feel more comfortable with them and therefore am not reservedly writing but writing with my own style, a bit more detailed than the first chapters.

Secondly, I'm not sure how Sheldon is going to react after this so I'll be thinking about that for a little bit. Is it a cocky "I told you I'd do it" or a very reserved "what mistake did I miss" and then Leonard will be supportive, will the others? I'm not exactly sure yet.

Sheldon's semi silence will be broken eventually but I (regardless if I am ready to write Sheldon lingo) felt this should have been a silent moment.

On another note. I am not a theoretical physicist. I do not understand everything but I do have an understanding at about this level so I will not dig too much deeper than this, if I dig anymore at all. I will be explaining more from Sheldon to Penny I believe so things will seem simpler if you didn't understand this stuff

Now I've said my piece.

Thank you for reading.

I'll ask again. How did I do?


	4. Chapter 4

**TheDarkestShinobi: **New chapter! And a thank you to Medusa20 for not only contributing wonderful stories to the Big Bang Theory fan fiction archives but also or agreeing to beta my story!

I'm not Leonard bashing. Just so you know. There will be a little bit of an issue here but not for long.

Another note. I am part of many fandoms, none of which are as serious as this one so I actually find writing this story a little intimidating since I would hate to disappoint. That being said I'd rather have a complete story that is not perfect than have a couple of chapters of a story I will never complete. (I have a story like that and it drives me insane sometimes.)

I can only hope for your continued support and constructive criticism.

**Chapter Start**

Sheldon was proud man. It was a fact he wouldn't deny. It was justified pride he knew but he didn't feel any pride looking at the theory he had proven. Instead he felt worried. He remembered the feeling of proving string theory before and the betrayal he felt when he learned that it was all a lie.

He would describe himself as anxious. He was jittery. He did it. He wanted to tell the world. He wanted to tell all of them that he was right. He wanted to prove that he truly understood how the universe worked. He wanted the science world to trust him again. He knew it would all happen, and now he stood so close to the threshold like he was some teenager in a novel about the coming of age. There was only one restraining factor. That would be his uncertainty in the matter. He knew it was foolish of him to be uncertain but he just had to be sure.

His reputation as a theoretical physicist was already unstable with the incident that happened after his Artic expedition. He couldn't risk saying he proved it just to have his work sabotaged again. He looked at the board memorizing the work and took out his phone to snap a picture just to be safe.

He had to take extra precautions now.

"Penny." He broke the silence that had dominated for the past few minutes. "I need you to drive me to the university."

"What? Why?"

"I will assume that you weren't seriously asking what." He said as he turned towards the other two. "As for why it's because I do not drive." He looked at her puzzled expression and tilted his own head slightly as he continued, "Honestly Penny did you forget that?"

"No, I know that." She stressed as she lifted her hands up as if to prove her point. "I meant why do you need to go to the university now?" She continued as she moved her hands outwards.

"Oh." Sheldon said as he turned around lifting his eraser and erasing all his work. "That's a fairly easy question to answer Penny. My work is at the university."

"And…" she prompted letting her hands rest on her hips.

"I need to go check something." He said simply turning back to her.

"Can't it wait 'til tomorrow."

"Until." Sheldon corrected automatically. Penny looked off to the left then back to him.

"What?"

"You said 'til tomorrow, the correct term is until. You should have said can't it wait until tomorrow, which even then could be better said as can it wait until tomorrow."

"Can it?" Penny asked mentally crossing her fingers. Sheldon looked at her before simply saying

"No." Leonard at this point cut it wondering why Sheldon wanted Penny to drive him. Penny would have no idea about his work, he at least had a clue. Leonard wanted to see his work.

"I can take you."

"I asked Penny." Sheldon responded.

Sheldon turned away and started towards his bedroom when Leonard fidgeted and decided to ask what had been bothering him for the past couple of moments.

"Hey Sheldon," Sheldon turned. "Why didn't you ask me to give you a ride?"

"Because I can't trust you anymore."

While Leonard tried to digest that Sheldon entered his bedroom and packed what he needed to bring to the university. Leonard downcast face suddenly turned to her. He gave her a sheepish grin. He felt it in his gut, the guilt that pooled and had gathered since the expedition. He really wanted to forget that he had ever sunken that low as a scientist.

Penny bit her lip. Sheldon could never get over their betrayal and she couldn't blame him. She didn't want to use the word betrayal, but she knew there really was no other word for it. Sheldon had been so close to his Nobel Prize only to find out the data was fabricated and then to top it all off he had to go back to the university and tell them that it was false information.

It didn't matter to Sheldon if Leonard was sorry because the damage had been done. Trust was like glass, once shattered you can only put the pieces back together and try to salvage it but you can never really fix it. She wasn't a scientist but she understood that.

She turned away from him as Sheldon exited his room with his messenger bag at his side. She said a quick goodbye to Leonard that was mimicked by Sheldon. He grabbed his keys from the bowl and shut the door behind him.

.

When Penny pulled out of the parking spot she glanced towards her passenger before smiling and starting her interrogation.

"So… anything interesting happen today?"

"That's a broad question. Do you mean did anything interesting in my life happen? Did you mean did anything interesting happen to anyone today? Or could you possibly mean anything interesting in the world or worldly affairs?"

"To you Sheldon, to you."

"Well," he shifted. "I can't tell you yet."

"Why not?"

She pressed on the breaks and slowed to a stop at the next red. She looked over to Sheldon who was looking into his hands.

"Because I'm not sure. My work is correct; my theories are flawless, as is all my work but there is the possibility of…" he trailed off. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to be reminded of the brutal pain that reminded him that he had a ways to go if he could ever truly call himself a _homo novus_.

"Sabotage?" she ventured a guess and he didn't respond, verbally anyways. That twitch was enough to tell her what she needed to know.

"Is this because of the Artic expedition?"

Another twitch.

Penny had her answer.

She pulled into the spot reserved for _Dr. Sheldon Cooper PhD_ and watched him get out. He closed his door and she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I will call you when I need to be picked up."

"Uh huh. No. I'm waiting with you." Because she would so beat the little humuca-something when she got back if she returned to 2311 Los Robles now and she wanted to see his office again.

"Why? You'll be bored if you stay with me." She smiled "I would not want you to distract me with your inquires about my day or anything else for that matter." She frowned. Rolling her eyes she opened her door and climbed out of the car grabbing her purse.

"I'm not leaving."

He didn't protest. Let her come and be bored. He had no time to argue with her, he needed to know if he was right. He needed to redeem himself in the eyes of science. What better way to do that than by proving how the universe worked?

Penny settled into step with him before they even entered the building. Sheldon, like the gentleman momma raised him to be held the door open for her and she found herself smiling. Somewhere in the robot of Sheldon was a heart, or at least a set of some manners.

Penny had been in Sheldon's office once before. Leonard had showed her around one day and she had asked to peek into Sheldon's space. He picked the lock after a few seconds and she walked into the room to unravel another layer of the man she had secretly admired and to see if there was any weakness she could exploit in that asshat.

Penny had felt overwhelmed that day. Not that she showed it, she was after all a talented actress, even if she was always too "mid-western". She had stepped into Sheldon's office and felt as if she was entering the mind of a genius. Sure, Leonard's stuff looked complicated but she could spot the occasional stack of disarray or action figure and poorly hidden comic book. Sheldon's room was filled with whiteboards, all filled to the brim with equations she didn't understand. Most of the work didn't even have numbers on them.

Every single thing was neat and organized. Everything seemed to belong. She felt out of place here and she wondered if Sheldon would fit in perfectly here. He would probably be standing in front of that half-filled bored with a pensive look and marker in hand. She backed out of the room and into Leonard and giggled so he would think she was clumsy and not amazed by his room when she hadn't even been fazed at his.

Sheldon was after all one of those beautiful mind genius guys.

"Penny, are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, what…" she looked up at him and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah I was listening."

"Well then what did I say?"

"Oh Sheldon, sweetie that's a broad question. Did you mean what did you say when you met me, or just now, or is it some arbitrary point in between?" _Arbitrary? What the frack did that mean?_

His lips went up in a tiny smirk like he was about to say 'bazinga' and his eyes seemed softer for the splitest of seconds like when she called him a beautiful mind years ago. Then Sheldon Cooper took his body back and he turned away walking into his office.

"Don't touch anything." Penny stayed at the door again leaning against the frame as she re-inspected the room. Everything was in order. Sheldon sat down in his seat and unlocked a draw before opening it and pulling out a book. He set it on top of the paper and they shifted. Penny wanted to say something. _Put it back. _She bit her lip. _It was perfect Sheldon. Put it back. _She looked towards the boards and seen a red line from the top left to the bottom right. She looked back at Sheldon. He ruined his own perfection.

Penny had no idea why it bothered her so much.

She bluntly told him she had to pee and he sent her off saying something about a middle stall and real estate and she blocked him out after that.

Sheldon pulled out six of his notebooks. He had six different equations ready to prove his theories. He smiled as he set them on his desk. He pulled a clean whiteboard out from against the wall and rewrote what was on the board at home. He set it next to the others and gently, ever so lightly let the eraser erase the red line. His lips quirked up as he fixed his equations one after the other.

His notebooks and notes lay in slight disarray but he couldn't care less at the moment. He was with his mistress after all, to paraphrase Williams. He finished his last one and stepped back.

"Sheldon?"

"Yeah?" Penny paused, caught slightly off-guard with his casual yeah.

"You okay?"

He turned to her and she was shocked. There was a smile on Sheldon's face, a genuine real smile. And he was not going to kill Batman.

"I did it."

"Sheldon?" In response he simply grabbed her shoulders and led her to his chair. He pushed her backwards.

"Sit."

Sheldon surrounded by science was nice; it was like the perfect background for a picture especially since he erased that red line.

"What do you know about string theory?"

"It assumes electrons and quarks was it? Yeah. That electrons and quarks are made up of strings."

"Not exactly."

"That's what Leonard told me."

"Penny, Penny, Penny." Sheldon said as he shook his head "Leonard is only an experimental physicist, I doubt he has any idea what actually happens in the universe. Regardless, I will now tell you."

She leaned forward in her seat wishing she had that physics notebook from so long ago.

"Everything that everything is composed of can be broken down. Eventually you will reach the level of an atom." Penny nodded "An atom was once thought to be the smallest thing in existence and that idea existed until a few decades ago. In the 5th century B.C. or B.C.E. whichever you would like to use, the Greek philosophers Democritus and Leucippus hypothesized that matter was made up of many tiny invisible particles. They called it "a-tomos," which means "uncuttable" today they are known as atoms."

Penny nodded again. She remembered atoms; they were simple, "the building blocks of everything else." Sheldon continued with his explanation.

"It was reasonably simple to assume why they would conclude that. Nothing can come from nothing after all. In 1803 John Dalton developed the first useful atomic theory of matter. He suspected that the atom was a sphere of positive and negative things. In 1987, Thomson furthered that theory by discovering the electron, the negatively changed thing."

"And these negatively charged thingies, the electrons, are made up of strings?"

"No."

"They… are strings?"

"Yes."

Penny stood and walked over to the boards. Sheldon stepped aside to let her see but watched carefully. Would she try and sabotage his work as well. Was she also jealous of him?

"How does this prove that?"

"I don't have time to explain it all."

"If I picked you up from work could you tell me a little bit more about it?"

"I suppose. Penny that is a wonderful idea. I no longer have to worry about Leonard seeing my work and sabotaging it again-" he froze when he realized he had said the words out loud and turned away. Penny nodded to herself before walking towards the door.

"I'm not going to drop you off. I would need to wake up too early, but I will be here to pick you up."

He nodded and put his books away. He took out a key and locked his draws. She wondered if he had always done that or if it started one fall after _the_ incident. He put one book in his bag and walked out of the room leaving Penny alone in it. She looked towards the doorway to see him waiting for her. She took another look at his office and felt that weird feeling of intrusion again. She turned and walked past him. He followed after securing the door.

Penny wondered if she could ever feel like she was smart enough to belong in his room.

**TDS: **let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**TheDarkestShinobi**: really short chapter. Basically an intro to a new character and the Oedipus complex talk. The new character will not dominate in any shape of form but she will help Sheldon, after all he would have trouble publishing everything on his own.

In addition I will inform you that the Oedipus plot I have had validity. However, my beta and I agreed that another path would be best with this story. I will leave the title most likely and may use the Oedipus talk for a something with Leonard since he is the oedipal complex within the show.

The next chapter should be up tomorrow.

**Chapter start**

Knock

Knock

Knock

"Shin? You in?"

The darkly tanned woman paused her typing on the computer and looked up to the girl leaning against her door. She instantly recognized the baby face and bright brown eyes of one of her favorite advisees.

"Come in!"

"Hey Shin, how are you doing?"

Shin looked at the beautiful young lady in front of her. She smiled as the other girl took a seat directly in front of her.

"Not that I don't enjoy these visits but I know its Monday and your schedule is full with the exception of this hour."

"I need to get some money Shin." Shin grabbed her chin thoughtfully.

"This scholarship covers your tuition."

"I know but my mom got laid off. She paid for the housing but not for food. I can't get a job here, I've tried."

"You could intern for a professor."

"I can?"

Andrea ran her hand through her long brown hair as Shin typed away on a computer. A flash and her schedule was on the screen.

"It'll have to be Dr. Cooper…"

"My physics teacher?"

"Mmm" Shin nodded. "He's crazy, but he is equally brilliant."

"So what do I do?"

"Do what I did. Read their papers, at least two and approach them after class one day and introduce yourself and ask them questions about their research. Express your interest. Next time you see them after class talk some more about a different topic, ask if they would meet you for coffee to talk about it some more."

"Okay." She responded but secretly she felt overwhelmed. She would have to talk to a professor! She wanted to blend and now she has to stand out!

"Make sure you know about the topic, otherwise you will seem like a waste of time. You could then ask if they know of any opportunities. That's where you get in. Once you are an intern you will get paid a considerable amount. It is also very difficult to do."

"I have to do it." She said as she stood fixing her black messenger bag.

"I need this education."

"Andy…" she turned back to her advisor and gave a small smile.

"Not only will this look great on your resume but you could have the time of your life." with a laugh Andrea took off to get to her next class.

.

"Ah, Beverly, how nice to meet you."

"I extend the same pleasantries Dr. Frances Bodde."

After taking a seat she crossed her legs and watched as Frances sat down in his chair.

"I need to know your views on the Oedipus complex."

The glint in his eyes let her know that she had come to the right person.

"The Oedipus complex is-"

"I wish to say I know the basics."

"Then I will say what you do not find in books. The controversial topics if you will."

"Very well."

"Sophocles' Oedipus is obviously the best example of the for-mentioned complex, hence the name. It is important to note a key factor. Oedipus never wanted to kill his father. He also had no real desire to bed his mother. Those were key facts, and I abide by that definition. However I must wonder if there are sub contexts to that complex like for many others."

"Like in everyday workings?" She tilted her head and he smiled.

"Exactly, we don't go around killing our parents in everyday lives, what we do is worse however."

"What do we do exactly?"

"You are a woman of intelligence, do you not see it?"

She paused in her thoughts and tried to analyze her life. It was a simple life. First it was filled with schooling, then securing a job and her place in society. She married and lived comfortably with her husband, then her children came along and the strain between them rose. Finally she had divorced him and was free of that burden of a family. She still treasured her children though. And here she sat contemplating it all.

"Who is the most important person in your life, aside from you of course?"

"My son."

"Not your husband?"

"Not anymore." He made a small 'aha' sound and leaned forward onto the desk.

"Your son replaced your husband in your heart. He had seen the love you gave to his father and subconsciously craved it and then he took it."

Beverly sat in a stunned silence for a while.

"What would you say about the phrase "boys marry their mothers"?"

"It is the reverse effect of the one I told you. Boys, we'll use in this case. Just like they became number one in your heart, you have always been number one in theirs. Soon they grow to realize their father has you in a way they never can. They also realize that they can never have you in that way. Instead they will search for a surrogate of you to marry."

"Interesting."

"Isn't it? One more thing to think about is the brother sister relationship." Beverly smirked.

"Your line of work."

"Yes. While interacting at a familial function with my wife I realized my brother in law and I are very similar and to that same effect, my sister and wife act more alike than I'd like to admit." He leaned back into his chair lacing his fingers in front of him.

"I started this research to notice these effects. After all, there must be some bond for the children that does not connect to the parents. I am writing my second thesis now and publishing the first. Two cases interest me, the ones like my sister and I and the one between my parents and their siblings in which I notice similar as well as opposing situations where siblings will marry the opposite of each other."

"Sound like an interesting line of work."

"It is. Though it makes you wonder if anything you do is really you or is it some complex or theory waiting to be discovered."

"So a boy who disliked his father and loved his mother dearly could still be considered to have an Oedipus complex?"

"Potentially. It is more likely than he would just set out to prove he is better than all men to all women, not necessarily those that act like his mother."

"Ah. What do you think about the standard definitions of the complex?"

"Well let me put it this way. What are you? Your work I mean."

"I'm a neurobiologist."

"Those standard definitions to me are like basic Chemistry to you."

She let out a small chuckle at his well-placed analogy.


	6. Chapter 6

**TheDarkestShinobi: **Next chapter is out! (and rather quickly considering my updating pattern) Reviewing is important since I'm unsure enough of my work as it is.

Thanks again to my wonderful beta Medusa20!

**Chapter start:**

Missy once said Sheldon was a spoiled brat. At his accusing glare she elaborated. Even after his mother or father or nature or society said no to something that he wanted he wouldn't give up, he would make the impossible possible and the unobtainable his. She hated it, at least that was what she had told him after she found out he had built an ice cream machine in secret after momma said no ice cream and wouldn't give her any. She said it again when he dismissed her once stating that he would be a better opponent for himself anyway. She said it more out of spite than anything else, but still she was secretly relieved to not have to play three dimensional board games. Sheldon had "broken" the rules for her once, making her a Barbie head with the softest brightest hair and leaving it in her room after she had begged momma for days to get her one. Momma said no and she sulked in her room until she had seen it. It had a little note attached to it.

_Please stop whining, it's making it hard to concentrate._

_ -Sheldon Cooper_

She decided then that she didn't hate him. In fact she knew she loved him. She had subscribed to her theory though.

Only Shelly could make the impossible possible.

.

Sheldon didn't like it when people said he couldn't have something. Wings he settled for, his own metal wing structure was abandoned in his basement when he left for college, but when it came to things that he could get he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Like the Lord of the Rings' one true ring of power.

He still had it hidden.

When his mother had told him he was too young for high school it had only motivated him more and by the next year he was packing for college. His father told him that English was the only darn tootin language he outta know and that them other suckers need to speak English cause this here is America. Sheldon retaliated by learning French, Italian, Japanese and Klingon. He didn't count JavaScript or Binary code as languages, he also wasn't sure if Morse code counted.

And his mastery of Finnish and Mandarin was yet to come. He would prove that they were not giving out Tangerine chicken. It was orange chicken.

When he was told by his college professor at the tender age of 11 that the Noble prize was out of his reach he asked if the professor thought it was possible. He said no and so the Nobel became his goal. He had only reaffirmed that when he found out just how much science meant to him.

Saying no to Sheldon only made him want it more. Which, he found, was the only reason he agreed to be Amy's friend again, but then, he mused, that didn't last too much longer afterwards.

So it was only because Leonard said that he couldn't teach Penny science that he set out to do so. It was helpful to him that she now desired to learn herself.

Doctor Sheldon Cooper could do anything.

He would prove it yet again.

.

On Monday Leonard sat alone at his lunch table. Sheldon had been inside his office since 9AM and most likely would only leave at two for his lecture before returning to work. Leonard respected that. Sheldon didn't trust him anymore. He pushed his food around with his fork. He'd just have to find some way of making it up to the man. Howard and Raj were both nowhere to be seen. Howard's excuse was in the form of his petite and charming girlfriend who had taken him for a lunch date. Raj had no excuse, he just wasn't there.

"Where's Dr. Dumbass?" Leonard looked up to see Leslie hovering above him.

"His office, why?" She shifted slightly before sitting across from him. "I need to speak to him about something." Leonard leaned closer asking her to elaborate with his eyes. "in private."

"Ah, I see." He leaned back in his chair.

"However, I do have news that concerns you." She said with a smile. "I have heard that your relationship with blondie has failed." Leonard shrugged.

"It wasn't working."

"So it was not as bad as Howard told me."

"Not at all." He smiled. "I actually think it was for the best."

"Now that you are unattached it would be socially acceptable if you went back to a previous attachment. I would like to propose we repeat our initial experiment."

"You want me to kiss you?" He gave her both a skeptical and surprised look and she shook her head.

"No, that was an obvious failure." He pouted before shrugging.

"Another bout of stress release?"

"Though not a failure I would rather not engage in casual sex once again. I wish to propose an actual date."

"And what would be the deciding variable?"

"Pheromones, heart rate, dilation of pupils, arousal."

"Parameters?" She stood and he followed with his eyes.

"I'll leave it up to you." She wiggled her hips trying to be sexy, he thought it incredibly cute.

"Assume the male role."

Leonard's eyebrows shot up as she walked away. She did not mean the date when she said male role.

.

Sheldon had watched not one, two or three, but seventeen students fall asleep in class. He had called each of them by name and scared them. In a class of four hundred no one expected the teacher to remember their names or single them out when they dozed off in class. Sheldon however could not forget skimming the class list and therefore knew each student by age, birthday, ID number, face, and name. He watched as each one jump before continuing his lesson.

And to think, when he died, the future generations would be left to these minds, it almost made him cry.

When he dismissed the class he watched some student jet out and others wait for friends before leaving. He sanitized his hands and packed his books into his bag. He turned at the sound of footsteps and looked the girl up and down.

"Dr. Cooper…" He scanned her face. She was ID number 8788 9345. Her name was Andrea. She was born December 17th.

"Andrea, correct?"

"Yeah…" She looked down and Sheldon glanced at the clock. His work was waiting.

"What do you want?"

She fidgeted and looked up.

"Well I was reading your paper on Electrons and Quarks acting similar to electrical wires and I had a few questions."

"Of course you did. You are barely achieving your masters."

He turned and picked up his bad seeming to ignore her and she almost turned away from him then and there. She needed the money she told herself as she thought of what to say next. She paused as other students started entering the classroom.

"If it's a quick one walk with me. If not, go away."

He started walking and with a shocked look she followed.

"My problem is with your dimensional analysis."

"That's going to require a long answer." He rounded the corner and she huffed.

"So you're not going to answer me." He paused looking at her.

"I never said that, I said it's going to require a long answer. If you are going to ask a question at least listen to the answer."

She ignored that last comment, mostly because she had heard stories of the crazy man and didn't want to see if they were true.

She asked her question and he responded by mentioning 90 degree angles separating vectors of I j and k directions that would continue until s if they continued down the alphabet and didn't incorporate Greek symbols and that they would work like three dimensional models, only in eleven dimensions. Nodding she found herself outside his office. She wasn't really sure she understood, but she'd look it up and know it before next class.

"Well I have a lot of work to do. I'll see you in class. Goodbye."

And just like that he shut the door in her face. Despite all that, Shin said she was doing well.

.

When Penny pulled into Sheldon's spot she looked into the mirror as she double checked that she looked okay. Nerds or not there were people here since it was Monday and she didn't want to look bad. She locked the door behind her and walked towards his office.

Only she got lost.

She ended up in the cafeteria and sighed. She thought she knew the layout since she had been here before.

"This lounge is for faculty only."

"Oh." She looked up. "I'm just looking for Sheldon Cooper."

"That's Dr. Cooper." Some other woman said as she looked up. "gotta call him doctor." Penny raised an eyebrow.

"He's just Sheldon to me."

She didn't realize how big of a thing that was. Even Leonard was forced to call him Dr. Cooper until a month after he moved in.

.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Sheldon turned from his whiteboard to the door.

"Sheldon."

He looked at the clock. It was an hour before his shift ended. Why was she here so early? She repeated it. After the third set he opened the door but he didn't move aside to let her in.

"You're early." He looked down at her curiously.

"I came right after my shift." She shrugged looking up at him.

"I hoped you at least washed your hands." She nodded and he turned away swiftly and sat down in his chair typing away at his laptop.

"Wacha doin?" She hovered over him.

"Writing down all my findings so that lesser minds can understand them."

She sat down on the edge of the desk, at his pointed look she got up. He went back to work and she was instantly bored. She was early but he still said he would teach her the string theory thingies. She looked back to the board. She knew that it somehow proved that Electrons and Quarks were strings but she didn't know what it meant. Couldn't he just teach her that?

_I mean that was really all that was important right?_

"Would you stop?" Sheldon hissed and she froze. What was she doing? Most likely tapping her foot she realized. She tried reading over his shoulder but it made him feel uncomfortable and she didn't understand what he was writing about anyway.

"Penny."

"Yes?" She got hopeful. Would he finally teach her more?

"Go away." She turned towards him with a scowl.

"You promised to help me learn this!" Her arm gestured to _this _which just happened to be all of Physics and Chemistry and the workings of the universe.

"I am well aware." He stood and she took a step back.

"So teach me!" Her arms flung out and Sheldon's eyes darted between the tips of her fingers and his pile of books that she could easily knock over if she threw them out again.

"Penny." He said as he shook his head looking to her and hoping for the sake of his books to calm her. "I promised to teach you, and in turn you promised that you would pick me up. My shift is not over so neither of the promises have any value in the current point in time."

"So you'll teach me later." She said more than asked and he gestured towards the door.

"Yes, in the meantime I have a lot of work to do. Goodbye."

"I'll come back in half an hour and I swear if you're not ready then I'm going to mess up one of your comics!"

"Comic book." He corrected as she stepped out of the door.

She turned to get the last word and the door shut in her face.


	7. Chapter 7

**TheDarkestShinobi:** I could tell you why chapters haven't been posted, or I could use my time to write the chapter.

I've decided I don't really know where I'm going with this plot wise yet. I'll find out eventually so stick around for the ride if you're interested!

**Start:**

She knew Sheldon would not open the door until he wanted her back so she leaned against the wall and huffed crossing her arms. The moments seemed to drag on. She looked at the clock to see that no measurable amount of time had passed. Eventually she slumped down. The clock seemed to move forward at the slowest possible pace. Soon afterward she found herself siting on the floor with her head in her lap. Her bag had slumped to the side and she looked up to the clock.

Only fifteen minutes had passed. She stood glaring at the door and considered banging on it but, knowing Sheldon; it would do more harm than good. She couldn't see any of the guys without having to explain the situation to them so she was left to wander.

She started down a long winding hallway figuring at least this way she would only have to go straight when she came back. After a minute she stopped; her path blocked by two big brown doors. Shrugging she pushed one open only to 'eep' as it caused a huge lecture hall's full of people to look at her as if a spotlight was shone on her.

"Hello, would you care to join the rest of this chemistry class?" the professor said mockingly. Penny almost backed out, but she really had nothing better to do, and so she sat in the closest seat to her. She sunk in her seat embarrassed but no one looked her way, all eyes were on the professor as he continued.

"And when we look at cloud densities we get an s-shell." The screen behind him turned into a sphere. Penny leaned forward "the p-shell" It changed into somewhat of an hourglass "and finally d and f but we will not cover that in this class. That will be your next semester." She could see nods and the professor pressed a button and the sphere came back under it was a caption ns2.

Penny was already bored. Why hadn't she just backed out? She sighed loudly and rested her head on her hand.

"You shouldn't have bothered coming if you were not going to pay attention. It distracts other students."

Holy crap on a cracker! She turned slightly to see a boy sitting next to her with thick glasses scribbling away in his notebook. She mumbled a sorry and sat up straighter looking at what he wrote.

Suddenly something clicked.

"We're talking about electrons." She whispered to herself and he looked at her like she was crazy.

"What else would have cloud densities in shells?"

She blushed; feeling incredibly embarrassed and shook her hand dismissively.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

She took out her notebook and a pen then, maybe this had something to do with Sheldon's work. She had started copying down the notes when the slide switched and she cursed under her breath.

"Once again we will use a Noble gas to identify the full shells so Neon is the next element we will examine."

Penny tuned him out. She knew very well that she could not listen and write at the same time from her years in high school. She finished writing in time to look up and see him holding some metal balls.

"Now, I have been working with a few other professors and we have used cloud densities to figure this out, as second year chemistry students you should appreciate this."

He let go of one and it floated in the middle of the air. Penny's mouth dropped open as she watched. Magnets, she told herself, they had to be magnets. The other students seemed unfazed. Next he released two yellow small ones and they whipped around the first in the shell. The two balls went in opposite directions.

"This, all you should all know, is a Helium atom."

"Beautiful." The boy next to her whispered. She nodded in response. He picked up two more yellow ones from the table behind him and with a mutter of 'Lithium' and 'Beryllium' released them. They split from each other before they rotated around in a bigger sphere. The professor mentioned positive and negative spins. Next he released a bunch of purple ones and they looped around the mini structure, splitting once again so that three went one way and three, the other. They weren't in a sphere like the others and Penny tilted her head.

"And this, Neon."

"Why are they different?" she asked lowly so the boy next to her could hear.

"They're the p shell." He tapped her notes with his pen and she looked down at it.

She looked up again.

That was an electron.

No, she mused, each little ball was an electron; the whole thing was an atom. A Neon atom.

The professor reached in and took a purple one out and held it to the class as if offering it to them.

"Now as you pick a specialty you will hear different theories pertaining to what an electron is, or is made of. Is it a quantum loop? Is it a string in thirty dimensions? I don't know. You might never know. Your children may never find the answer."

He brought it closer to his face as if to inspect it.

"It is a great mystery and when we find what it is the whole idea of science will change. First year chemistry students might learn different ways to compute electron densities and new ways to assign numbers. Old crazy professors like me will only be outdated."

Some students laughed; the boy next to her chuckled.

"It would take another Einstein, no dare I say, a man even smarter and bolder than all the scientists we idolize to crack this."

Penny blinked. Sheldon was doing that. Would that mean Sheldon was smarter than all the people she was taught to admire in school? Would Sheldon be written about in textbooks? Would his face be put on a poster next to a quote of his?

This was all so crazy to think about.

The professor walked back over to the still moving Neon atom and put the electron back in. She watched the little purple ball make its rotation as the professor began to speak again. She paid him no mind.

That was one of the smallest things ever, and no one knew what it was made of. _No one but Sheldon._ She suddenly felt honored to know him. Sure he was crazy, but, shoot, if he knew this, if he was smarter than Einstein she could certainly understand why he didn't care what people thought of him.

"And on that note, I will see you all on Wednesday. Don't be late."

Penny grabbed her book and stood looking at the boy who sat next to her. He packed up his books and she leaned over the desk careful not to get in the way of people leaving.

"What's your name?"

"Thomas." He said sticking a hand out. "And yours?"

"Penny." She shook his hand and he stood.

"Ah, I'll see you next class Penelope."

She took a few steps before turning and correcting him. The name is P_enny, _not Penelope when she noticed something. He was way shorter than she expected him to be. Kid genius she thought, _like Sheldon_. She shook her head and mingled with the crowd as she left.

Not a bad way to kill forty minutes.

.

She walked to Sheldon's room with no difficulty at all and paused looking at a nearby clock. It wasn't time yet, but it was damn near close enough. Twisting the doorknob she opened it slowly and peeked inside.

Sheldon was super focused on his work, so he hadn't heard her come in. She slid the door closed as he stared at his bored. His fingers stroked his chin and his other hand supported his elbow and held an expo marker between his fingers. His hair was tousled; he most likely had run his hands through a few times while doing his work and his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows.

She leaned against the wall quietly; she knew she would feel terrible if she broke some realm altering thought process of his. Instead she got lost in her own thoughts. Her wacky neighbor could be the next Nobel Prize winner. His thoughts most likely wouldn't change life as she knew it, but still, the fact that only he could think of these things was amazing to think about. It was certainly more accomplishment than she could ever have. She shook her head.

"Penny, you're back."

"Hey, Sheldon."

He glanced at the clock and put the expo marker down. He ran his hand through his hair again and Penny almost laughed at how un-Sheldony it was. She took out her notebook, smiling at his appreciative look.

"So Moonpie, where do we start?" His face twitched

"Only Meemaw calls me moonpie, and that depends on you, I have no idea what you know and therefore what you are ready to learn."

He turned to his laptop and gestured for her to sit down. She did and he pressed a button that caused a couple of questions to appear, but based on the size of the scroll bar she could say there were at least 50 of them.

"No, Sheldon, not a test! I haven't even learned anything yet." She turned to him in the seat, her voice starting to rise.

"It's hardly a test; it is more of an assessment, how am I supposed to know where to begin if I don't know what you know? Am I to assume you know about shells-"

"Like the s and p?" He paused and glared at being interrupted before he realized that she interrupted him with a knowledgeable question. He didn't think she knew that much. He nodded.

"Yes, like the s and p shells. Regardless Penny, don't interrupt me when I am speaking, it's rude. Any-"

"Sorry." He paused again; looking poised to scold her again but simply gestured to the laptop again

"Fill this out."

She turned with a mutter of 'fine'

He excused himself for a few minutes and Penny began. She considered guessing them all just to finish but she recognized the picture in front of her.

"P-shell…" she whispered as she read the question. How many electrons? She tapped her chin, there were six purple balls doing the loop thingy, so six. She typed it in and hit submit. She smiled and feeling confident scrolled down to the next few.

Sheldon had come back shortly thereafter, his hair was combed back the way it always was and his sleeves were pushed back down. He sat down in the chair opposite Penny and started writing things down in his notebook.

They sat in silence for about half an hour before Penny stood. Sheldon followed her motion with his eyes and seeing his gaze she smiled "Done."

"With all sixty questions?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't guess your way through?"

"Nope."

"Very well." He stood as well "Let us go home now. You're lessons start tomorrow."

"Alright." Penny agreed stretching, she felt she had learned enough today, even though Sheldon taught her nothing. "Let's go moopie, its Thai night."

She walked out the door, Sheldon followed soon after with a 'no one calls me Moonpie but Meemaw!'


	8. Chapter 8

**TheDarkestShinobi**: Next!

He had gotten an email about accepting a research assistant. There was a program in the school under NSF that had extra funding and claimed to have a student interested in working with him. This was the same place that had sent him Ramona, and Kyle even more years back. He sighed. Gabelhouser would make him take the student unless he had one or a very good reason, and he had neither at the moment.

He had to write his String theory paper now; there was no time for anyone else in his lab. He looked to his whiteboard. He couldn't imagine anyone in his classes being acceptable. Maybe Andy.

She made it a point to be around. Unlike the few before her, she respected all his boundaries and got his food order right. She wouldn't leave it at that though, for everything she did there was something she demanded to know. He liked that thirst for knowledge and he should give her some, after all, who could possibly teach her more than he could. He could ask her if he fell into desperation.

The knock on the door was unexpected. Most of the faculty had left, Andy never came on Fridays and Penny isn't due for another 20 minutes.

"Come in." He announced as he shifted the paper in his hands. He hoped it wasn't someone from the program. He glanced down to the paper; this one didn't have anything else he could quote for his new paper. He placed it to the side as he looked up to see Andy standing by the door.

"Andy, how unexpected."

"Dr. Cooper, may I sit." She gestured to the chair nervously and he nodded.

"You may, I trust you didn't find the new assignment too difficult."

"A bit," she laughed as she sat, the man's assignments were always close to impossible. "but I came here for a different reason."

"Well come on, spit it out." She let out a breath.

"I want to do research with you." She blurted and he waved his hand.

"Oh course you do, no one in their right mind wouldn't."

"I have funding, and you don't have a student" she continued, "and I know a mind such as yourself could use help in papers or verifying mathematical data."

"Interesting." He paused before continuing "NSF."

"Yes." She scratched her neck. "I just received it."

"Do you drive?" She nodded. "and would you be opposed to dropping me off at my apartment whenever we finish here?"

"No. Does that mean you'll take me?" She couldn't contain her excitement and he put up a hand.

"No. That just means I'll consider it. Now I'll expect you here when you are not having class from 9-5 on Monday, excluding 12-1 for lunch or 1-2 if you have class from 12-1." He closed his laptop screen. "Next week is a test period where neither of us will commit to each other." He held up a finger.

"If I accept you then you will be here for the duration of the semester, and possibly longer, so that means that I need to be able to trust you to be honest about commitments, experiments and data."

'_You tampered with my experiments!'_

He shook his head. "I need to know you will be able to stay no matter what happens between us or how difficult we become to each other. You are encouraged to voice concerns and obligated to double check, but my decisions on papers and experiments and conferences and so on are final."

"I understand."

"Make sure you do." He said rudely. "because I will be investing time into this, and you better prove that you are worth more time than that first week."

"I will." He pulled out his second draw and grabbed the stabled bundle on the top.

"This is a prospective student form. Fill it out and return it to me as soon as possible." She took it and looked to it. "on your own time, I'm not done." Her head snapped up.

"At the end of the first week, should you prove yourself, I'll have us both sign a contract about your workings here including time, NSF payments, confidentially, which professors you are not allowed to work with after me, what you can and cannot say about the lab and research and so on, but we will handle that item when we come across it."

He heard another knock. Boy was he popular.

"Now get out, I'll see you on Monday."

.-.

"Carbon." She whispered after reading the chemical properties on the board. Thomas nodded as he tapped his pencil on the table.

It had been a week and a half since Sheldon actually started teaching her and she had started coming to this class whenever she wasn't working. She had taken a test on Monday from Sheldon and went through it with him on Wednesday. He didn't give her a score, but she could tell he wasn't impressed, even if she did do better than he expected.

This class had offered her more information each day and it helped her understand some electrony things Sheldon spoke on about. Plus Thomas was really smart and she could ask him some things Sheldon said that she couldn't understand. Thomas sat in the same seat every day and she had taken to sitting next to him. When she was done with this class she'd run down the hall to find the whackadoodle waiting with a short lesson plan.

She was right, she learned with joy, it was a Carbon atom, a Carbon 14 which was different than a Carbon 12, she didn't really know why but she got that far.

The professor let them out early, told them to enjoy their weekend and Penny made her way to Sheldon's office. She wondered what he would teach her today. He usually had the door open by now. She knocked.

"Now get out, I'll see you on Monday." Oops. She didn't want anyone to be cutoff. The door opened to reveal a brunette.

"Excuse me," She brushed past her and down the hall and Penny pointed after her.

"Who's that?"

"A potential research assistant. Now sit."

Last time she had learned about the energy states of electrons. Electrons whizzed about the neutrons and protons at different distances in the electron cloud. The reason that different dimensions thoughts came about was the "jump." She understood it like this. Each electron space was like a block and the farther the block was from, let's say the mall, the more energy it had. Electrons existed on blocks, and they could cross streets. Whenever they went to cross a street though, they would appear on the other side. They were never in the street.

"Do you remember what I said before about electrons transitioning between orbitals?" He winced at her explanation but conceded that she did get the key points.

"Today we're going to learn how the shells are filled."

"Well, the 1s is first and then the 2s." She remembered the magnetic balls swirling around.

"then the 2p." She closed her eyes and he turned to watch her. She threw her hands up "That's it, that's all I know."

He drew a diagram, there were different ones other than s and p, there was also a d and f. She also learned that the guy who made the periodic table was a genius.

"So the guy who made this knew all the stuff to organize it that way." Sheldon turned to her

"No. No, these are patterns in nature. This is in order numerically; everything else falls into place." He seemed enamored and for the first time she could understand why. Science was beautiful.

She nodded, there was definitely a crater missing from the top of it then but she wouldn't say anything. Something clicked on the way home.

"Sheldon, are you trying to say that the little transition points are in other dimensions?"

"Yes. I thought that was-"

"So do you know which dimension each shell jumps into?"

"Well, that's hard to say." No it wasn't, she watched his hand twitch out of the corner of her eye. "It's-"

"Sheldon," She interrupted, "you don't have to tell me if you don't trust me or are uncomfortable."

"Oh, thank you." He said in relief and she glanced at him. Really? Not even a 'I trust _you_ I just want to keep my work a secret' or something? She twisted her lip and looked at the road.

"You really know how to make someone feel good." He paused and tilted his head to look at her.

"Sarcasm?" She tapped her nose and he smiled giddily stating his monthly score. She shook her head in response but couldn't help but smile.

.-.

"We'd have to teach the children loop theory." She said as she stretched. He looked over to her from his spot on the bed and grinned.

"You are still stuck on that?"

"Of course." She pulled the blanket up to cover her breasts as she sat up. He sat up as well and nodded.

"If no one proves anything before we have kids, then teach them about the loopy universe to your heart's content."

"I'm glad we agree."

**End: **Reviews and motivation are proportional!


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